


Ninety-Nine Percent

by Apparentlynotreallyfinnish



Series: Prompted ficlets [3]
Category: Rhett & Link
Genre: Angst, Ficlet, M/M, with a hopeful ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-13
Updated: 2019-05-13
Packaged: 2020-03-02 14:45:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,358
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18813064
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Apparentlynotreallyfinnish/pseuds/Apparentlynotreallyfinnish
Summary: Part of a series of prompted ficlets. Prompt: They do a relationship compatibility test and find that they are 99% compatible





	Ninety-Nine Percent

“That’s a wrap!”

The cameras shut down. There was a flurry of people moving about the set. Rhett and Link still sat behind their desk. Link was chewing on his bottom lip. He couldn’t bring himself to look at Rhett. This was supposed to be a light-hearted, fun episode. It had been a good idea. Let’s take a relationship compatibility test. It was a brand-new test, recently published in a reputable scientific publication. The media had been having a field day with it. It was supposed to be based on the cutting-edge science of relationship dynamics. It was supposed to give you an actual answer to the question, “should we be together?”. The production crew and writers were excited. That will be fun. The fans will love it. What could go wrong? 

Link sighed.

Nothing had gone wrong. Not really. The episode had been great. There had been the usual banter between them, eliciting laughs from the crew. There had been heartfelt moments. There had been calculated innuendos, delivered with convincingly innocent expressions. It would definitely be a fan favorite. But when they had seen the results flash to the screen, Link had felt the air between him and Rhett change. It had been unexpected and strange.

99 %

The crew had laughed and hollered appreciatively. Stevie had made some remark about how she’d known all along. Link had tried to smile and joke. He’d slapped his hand on Rhett’s shoulder and playfully called him his friendsband. It had been nearly imperceptible, and it probably wouldn’t be picked up by anyone but Link, but Rhett had recoiled from his touch. Link’s carefully placed smile had faltered for a second, but he’d quickly turned the reaction to a fake sneeze.

Rhett still sat in his chair, palms pressed to his thighs, staring straight ahead, not looking at anything. The motionlessness was freaking Link out. Stevie was talking to them. Link tried to concentrate on what she was saying, but his eyes kept wandering back to Rhett, and Stevie’s voice became more and more muffled as his thoughts started to spiral. Something was wrong. Link had no idea what, but he knew his best friend, and he could see that Rhett was struggling. Suddenly, Rhett jerked up. It was like he’d decided to wait a certain amount of time before rushing out, and the time was finally up. He left without saying a word.

“What’s got his knickers in a twist?” Stevie asked taken aback.

“He’s been having a really bad headache all day.” The lie slipped out easily.

“Oh, too bad. Well, that’s a wrap for today, so he might as well go home now.”

“Yeah, I’ll go talk to him. Maybe I can get him to take a rest.”

“Unlikely, but you do that,” Stevie said smiling and turned to talk to Chase about tomorrow’s shoot.

Link stood up and started towards their office. He was stopped by some crew members and was lost in a conversation he didn’t want to have right now, but it would have been rude to say no. When he finally managed to slip away, their office was empty. Link had already turned to go search for Rhett when he heard a small sound from the loft. It was something between a sigh and a strangled sob.

Link locked the office door and climbed up. Rhett was sitting on the floor, back against the railing, head hung, face pressed to his palms. He didn’t say anything when Link sat down next to him. Link folded his hands on his lap and waited. The silence stretched on. Link didn’t want to say anything to break it. He knew Rhett needed to get out whatever it was that was bothering him. He needed to start on his own time. If Link pressed, he’d just clam up. Finally, Rhett drew a deep breath and, sounding almost shell-shocked, said:

“Ninety-nine percent.”

Link answered with an affirmative hum, waiting for more. Rhett turned to look at him.

“Ninety- _fucking_ -nine percent, Link!” his voice was rising, and Link noticed that his hands trembled against his thighs.

“I saw that, yeah.”

Rhett gasped for air, his mouth opening and closing, looking for words that were lost on him. His head dropped to his palms again.

“It’s just a stupid test, Rhett.”

“But it’s not,” Rhett muttered against his hands.

“It is. Come on. We both know it means nothing.”

Rhett laughed, but there was no amusement in it. All Link heard was pain and hurt. The sound dug deep into his stomach and made him nauseous and scared. It finally started to dawn on Link what was going on. Rhett scrambled up. He started pacing, wringing his hands through his hair. Link got up too. His hand rose up. He tried to grab Rhett to stop his agitated movement. Rhett pulled his arm away and with wide, panicked eyes said:

“It means everything.”

“No, Rhett. It doesn’t.” Link’s voice was shaky and desperate now. “Don’t do this,” he added quietly. His hands had balled into fists. He was shaking all over. He felt like they were standing on a cliff's edge and Rhett was about to throw them over.

“Ninety-nine percent, Link,” Rhett whispered.

Link said nothing. He realized his breathing was erratic, tears not far from falling. He refused to react to the number anymore. _Don’t say it_ , he thought. _Oh, God, please don’t say it._

“We made the wrong choice.”

Rhett’s words were like a punch in the chest. All the air in Link’s lungs left him, and his hands scrambled to find something to hold on. He settled on the railing, holding on tight and hanging his head between his arms.

“Don’t,” he rasped.

“We were supposed to be more.”

“No.”

“We were supposed to be together.”

“We are together. We do everything together. I can’t get rid of you,” Link tried to turn it into a joke. Jokes were good. Jokes made everything better. Maybe jokes could take away the chilling hurt that had taken root in his stomach.

“No. It’s not enough. We were supposed to be more.”

“Shut up.”

“We were supposed to tell the world how in love we are.”

“Fuck you, Rhett!”

“We were supposed to do that too.”

Link let out an angry, desperate growl, no longer able to find words that might stop Rhett. Link was panting. It seemed to work, though. Rhett went quiet. Suddenly, there were determined hands pressed against Link’s body. Rhett was rough, grabbing onto Link’s shirt, whipping him around, pushing him against the railing. Link was still trying to find some kind of control over his breathing.

Link’s fists connected with Rhett’s chest. They made a low thud, and Rhett huffed, more annoyed than pained. Link fought the tears. He wasn’t going to cry. Not because of Rhett. He hit him again, weaker this time. His fists finally opened, palms pressing against Rhett’s warm chest. He could almost feel his heartbeat. Rhett just stood there, holding their bodies together. Solid and real. That’s what he was. What he’d always been for Link. His goddamn rock and his hard place. Always the one to challenge Link but also the one who was there for him when he was in pain or needed guidance.

“Rhett,” Link’s voice was a whispered plea. He wasn’t sure what he was pleading.

Rhett decided for him. He dipped his head down, lips almost grazing Link’s. There was a pause, an escape route for Link. He could still stop this. Hand on the back of Rhett’s head, Link closed the distance. Their lips met, desperate and hungry. Rhett’s beard scratched Link’s face, but his lips were soft and tasted of berries and wood. He smelled familiar and foreign at the same time. Something new wrapped up in a package of old. It was like flood gates opening, and the repressed feelings finally set free threatened to drown Link alive. And still, Link needed more. He grasped to get a tighter hold of his best friend melting into him, his eternal sidekick, his partner in mythicality, his friendsband.

The love of his life.

**Author's Note:**

> This was prompted by insaneoldme on Tumblr.


End file.
